My understanding is that I am unable to mention many issues contained in this article due to secret court orders: UK judge Gags Palestine Action Defendants to Secure ‘Terror’ Stitch-Up so I won’t do that. What I will say is that the UK government and state has gone to considerable lengths to restrict the rights of Palestine Action defendants and supporters of Palestine Action persecuted for holding signs.
At Woolwich Crown Court, there has been a shocking development in the Filton case, five of the six defence barristers have left the trial following judicial rulings which cannot be reported until the end of the trial.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said today:
“In recent years we have seen judicial rulings that banned climate campaigners from saying the words ‘fuel poverty’ and ‘climate change’ in their trials.
Today we understand a judicial ruling has been given that goes even further, and as a response the legal professionals representing five of the six defendants on trial in the Filton case have no choice but to leave the trial because they have been left with literally nothing they can say in closing arguments.
We should all be alarmed to hear that the legal process has been so corrupted that, today we have lawyers in the UK walking away from a trial because it is impossible for them to do their job of defending their clients.”
The trial of the first six defendants from the group known as the ‘Filton24’ has reached the stage of closing arguments. Five of the six defendants will now be giving their own closing speeches as they have no legal representation.
This is a retrial on charges of criminal damage, after the 6 Filton defendants were acquitted in February 2026 by a jury for the charges of aggravated burglary and violent disorder. The case relates to an action against Elbit’s weapons ‘research and development’ hub in Filton, Bristol, in which they are accused of destroying Israeli quadcopter drones.
Zarah Sultana Exposes ‘Attack on Civil Liberties’ That British Media Can’t Report
A US Air Force B-1 bomber is loaded with bombs at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, March 16, 2026OUR government is lying about its role in Trump’s war on Iran. As Tehran’s warning to Yvette Cooper shows, it isn’t fooling foreign governments; and as demonstrators will make clear on Saturday at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, it isn’t fooling people at home either.
US bombers are on the tarmac there, being loaded with bombs to drop on Iran.
Keir Starmer’s claim that they will only be used for “specific and defensive” activity would be unenforceable even if the concept of “defensive” bombing in a war of aggression begun by the US made sense.
As the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament notes, in reality the British government cannot control and is probably not even informed of the bombers’ targets.
The first day of the war saw a “double tap” Tomahawk missile strike by the US destroy a school, killing 175 people, most of them schoolgirls. Operation Epic Fury began with an epic war crime.
…
British bases must be closed to US forces.
That would be de-escalation in practice, helping to contain the war. It would atone for our complicity in US war crimes. By limiting the number of sites from which attacks can be launched, it could contribute to the security guarantees that might bring peace a little closer.
For now, we are part of this war. Only by refusing that can we help to end it.
See the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/starmer-not-trying-de-escalate-war-iran-he-has-got-us-involved
Iran’s Foreign Minister has warned Yvette Cooper in a phone call that allowing US use of UK bases is considered as British “participation in aggression”.
Green MPs and peers have written to Keir Starmer expressing alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran and pressing the Prime Minister to answer a number of urgent questions – including what control, if any, the UK has over US strikes launched from British bases and whether British-made weapons components are being used in breach of international law.
They note that the UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons, and reiterate demands for an end to all UK complicity in this illegal war.
FULL TEXT OF LETTER
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing as Green Party MPs and Peers to express our alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.
Already well over 1,000 civilians have been killed, including a reported 168 children killed by a missile now widely believed to be from the United States (Guardian, 2026). UNICEF has reported that the Israeli military’s assault on Lebanon is killing or injuring the equivalent of one classroom of children every day (Reuters, 2026).
In addition to the grave humanitarian impacts, the longer this illegal, unnecessary war continues, the greater the global economic fallout – to which the UK is particularly exposed because it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
In light of this, there are urgent questions your government must answer:
The UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons. It is therefore of the utmost importance that these questions are answered as a matter of urgency.
This illegal war is inflicting untold suffering and devastation in the region and will cause huge and long lasting human, political, economic and environmental ramifications, as well as the immediate impact on the cost-of-living for our constituents. We, as Green Party MPs and Peers, reiterate our calls for the UK government to:
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Carla Denyer MP
Siân Berry MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Jeremy Corbyn takes part in a Palestine Coalition march in central London, January 31, 2026JEREMY Corbyn asked Sir Keir Starmer today if he will co-operate with any investigation into British complicity in war crimes following the publication of the Gaza Tribunal Report.
The former Labour leader wrote to the PM, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and former foreign secretary David Lammy after the tribunal found ministers should face investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for failing to prevent a genocide in Gaza.
The letter urged the government to end all military co-operation with Israel as well as impose economic sanctions and suspend its trade agreement with the state.
The tribunal calls for a full investigation by the ICC into Britain’s actions in response to the conflict, as well as an independent public inquiry into any co-operation between Britain and Israel since October 2023.
It says that Britain was complicit in Israel’s actions, which a UN commission found to have constituted a genocide last year.